Chapter 7

Ellisande opened the door to her apartment on a Thursday night, a week later from the day she started working at Kincaid Development at the Kincaid Tower. She took off her low heel pumps and walked tiredly towards the couch. She sat down and leaned her head on the soft pillow, closing her eyes.

In her first week in the city, she managed to get lost on her way back from the supermarket by making a wrong turn and crashing into an ongoing store renovation. A furious SJ came picking her up on a late Sunday morning at the police station after paying for the damages. The policemen seemed to know him well enough not to say anything and watched her being dragged back to his car and berated at her furiously the entire way to her apartment. He yelled at her, for the car she was using will be taken for repairs. She tried explaining that she made a wrong turn but he never believed her.

“I just said yesterday that it’s not for racing!” He shouted and he started poking one finger on her head hardly. “Are you letting that get in through your thick head? Or are you just plainly stupid and could not understand the words I’m saying?”

After learning about her situation, Mrs. Kincaid had secretly had groceries delivered to her apartment with a note saying that she will be taking care of it from now on. She also added to understand her husband’s anger since he is only worried about her safety, to which Ellisande refused to believe.

On the next two days of her free time, she got robbed of the cash she had with her at the other side of the town and had to walk home for three hours since she is not yet familiar with the surroundings. She didn’t inform her husband about it, knowing he will only get angrier and who know what he is going to do to her.

Life got even more miserable when she reported on her first day of work. She arrived twenty minutes before the office hours and wore a decent outfit, a collared white long-sleeve blouse together with a pair of grey pants and blazer. The Hiring Manager, she was told to report to, took one look at her and only sneered. After issuing her office ID and getting her biometrics, Ellisande then went to the 70^th Floor and went to the ID Manager’s Office, who endorsed her to a supervisor.

One look from the supervisor and Ellisande knew that she will be hated. The minute the manager turned her back to them, her supervisor, Valerie Coleman, then ordered her to make her coffee. To make matters worse, her group of officemates then demanded coffee as well. She spent her first day, waiting hand and foot for them. She recalled empty cups being thrown at her to disposed of. She went home past 9 in the evening after cleaning and fixing the pantry.

The following days were the same and they would sometimes add another item like ordering her to get them several boxes of bond paper immediately only to find out a few hours later that you can call and have someone from Warehouse Supplies Department deliver them straight to them. She would also eat on her own on her small office desk since not one is asking her to join. When one had found out about it, her supervisor called and yelled at her, pointing a rule, she could not find in the manual that having lunch on their desk is prohibited.

Ellisande opened her eyes and reached for her bag and pulled out her soiled blouse. She had an accident at the company’s food hall when she tripped over something, her food tray flying as well as the person’s tray she collided, scalding her left arm with hot soup while most of it landed on her head and blouse. Nobody made a move to help her while she apologized profusely at the person she collided, who is yelling at her angrily.

“It’ll get better, Elli,” she assured herself as she stood up, heading to the bath in her room to wash her blouse. “You were given a small work a while ago. That’s an accomplishment.”

Small work that meant changing any typo errors on the notes of one’s drawings. She was happy she was able to read and edit a few pages.

She heard the doorbell rang and she stopped for a while, curious as to who is behind the door.

“May I help you?” Elli asked gently when she opened her door after checking through the peep hole.

“Hi! I’m your neighbor from Unit 5A,” a tall, dark-haired woman greeted with a smile. “My name’s Jasmine Stevenson.”

“I’m Ellisande Porter,” Elli answered.

Jasmine beamed warmly. “It took me a while to come and check on you,” she explained gently. “My husband just got out of the hospital yesterday and had been pretty busy. Have you eaten? It’s my son’s birthday and I prepared a small feast.”

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude,” Elli answered gently.

“You’re not,” Jasmine countered softly and she gently took Elli’s hand and pulled her out. “It’s just you and me on this floor. Thank God you’ve finally arrived. I’m so bored to death with no one to talk to when my husband goes to work. I’m never of an outgoing person and prefer to stay here.”

“Me, too,” Elli said, liking Jasmine even more. She fixed herself lightly before following Jasmine inside and was greeted by the husband, who is sitting comfortably on the lazy boy chair and watching a sports game while two boys are arguing over a drawing of a horse.

“Hey,” Jasmine called at the two. “Say hello to Ms. Elli, boys. She’s our new neighbor.”